Ambassador Adib poised to be Lebanon PM

 

Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, Mustapha Adib, is poised to be designated prime minister on Monday after winning the support of major parties to form a new government facing a crippling financial crisis and the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion.

His nomination followed contacts by French President Emmanuel Macron over the last 48 hours to press Lebanese leaders to agree on a candidate ahead of a visit by the French leader to Lebanon this week.

Macron has taken center stage in international efforts to get Lebanon’s fractious leaders to start addressing a financial crisis that had devastated the economy even before the Aug. 4 port blast that killed some 190 people.

A French presidency source said Macron had been in contact by phone with the main protagonists on Saturday and Sunday.

“The president is informed of the negotiations underway in Beirut,” the source said.

Macron arrives in Beirut late on Monday.

A senior Lebanese source said Macron’s role had been essential in clinching the agreement on Adib.

Adib has a doctorate in law and political science and previously served as an adviser to Najib Mikati, a former prime minister.

He has served as ambassador to Germany since 2013.

The post of prime minister must go to a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian system.

Adib’s candidacy won vital political backing on Sunday from former prime ministers including Saad al-Hariri, who heads the biggest Sunni party, the Future Movement.

President Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian, is due to meet parliamentary blocs on Monday in the official consultations to designate the new premier.

He is required to nominate the candidate with the biggest level of support among MPs.

Lebanon’s dominant Shi’ite parties, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, will both name Adib at the consultations, a senior Shi’ite source said.

The Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a political ally of Hezbollah, which was founded by Aoun and is led today by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, will do the same, Bassil told Reuters.